Exhibit of the month – June 2025

FUNERARY STELE OF DEINES, SON OF ANAXANDER

Sozopol (Apollonia Pontica), Sozopol Municipality, Burgas region

Marble, Early 5th c. BC

One of the museum iconic stone artefacts was found during excavations at Apollonia Pontica (present-day Sozopol). Some researchers believe that the stele was made in a workshop in Miletus, the Apollonian metropolis. The image presents a man with a himation and sandals. His hair is sculpted with parallel concentric bands and curls. He is leaning on a stick, playing with his dog. The plot and the way the hair and beard are depicted are similar to monuments dated back to 6th century BC, but the position of the torso and the rounding of the shoulders point out to 5th century BC. A silhouette of a male figure in profile is visible on the back of the stele, which was probably defaced by the sculptor himself. The inscription in ancient Greek reads: [ἐνθάδ’ Ἀ]ν̣αξάνδρο Δ̣ε̣ι̣νῆ[ς δ]οκιμώτατος ἀστῶγ κε[ῖμ]αι ἀμώμητο[ς τ]έρμα λα[χ]ὼν θανάτο. (Here lies Daines, son of Anaxander, most honoured of the citizens, who awaited the end of his life blameless).

The exhibit is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Bibliography:

В. Добруски 1896. Материали по археологията на България. – Сборникъ за народни умотворения, наука и книжнина, XIII, 1896, 430-432.

G. Mihailov 1958. Inscriptiones Graecae in Bulgaria repertae. Vol. I, 1958.

К. Бояджиев, М. Стамберова, Ж. Василева, Т. Стефанова (ред.) 2022. 130 избрани експоната от колекцията на Националния археологически музей. Национален археологически музей, Каталози, том ХХV, 104.